


Double Dog Dare

by Scribbling Mama (melgibson87)



Series: AU August 2018 [9]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU August, AU Yeah AUgust (Miraculous Ladybug), Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Confident Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Dork Adrien Agreste, Double Dog Dare, F/M, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Northeast USA, Oblivious Adrien Agreste, Set in USA, Smitten Adrien Agreste, Summer Camp, Summer Camp AU, cabin wars, chloe is the same old chloe, warring cabins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-06-26 02:57:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15654324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melgibson87/pseuds/Scribbling%20Mama
Summary: It's Adrien's first time as a camp counselor and he's not doing as well as he'd hoped. Chloe isn't helping matters either by giving him preferential treatment at the camp her father owns. All he wants is to make some friends and gain some happy memories during their summer vacation. He never imagined meeting Marinette or falling hard for the spunky, confident counselor.





	1. Meeting Marinette During the War

**Author's Note:**

> This is Day 9 of AU Yeah August. Prompt is Summer Camp. This one needs a bit of work, but it'll be a fun one once I get the details down and start really diving into the story. I hope you enjoy the little teaser I have for now.

 

Working as a group hadn't been the easiest for the new counselors. They'd come from different walks of life, especially the blond-haired Adrien Agreste. Compared to the others, he didn't necessarily fit in with them though he did his best to work with them. Learning more about them had been the hardest part since he'd been afforded little interaction with peers throughout his formative years. 

His only friend for the longest was the daughter of the camp owner. She'd been the reason he'd gotten the job in the first place, not that he'd been looking for a handout. However, that's not how the others saw it as he entered the counselor's bunk on the first day, claiming the head counselor's room as per Chloe's command.

He'd heard the whispers spreading amongst the other counselors as they speculated on his personality and relationship with Chloe. None of them seemed to care for her as far as he could see, but then, he couldn't blame them if her actions and words were anything to go by. She didn't have a nice word to say to any of them, except for Adrien.

He hated the way she'd singled him out, keeping him from making friends with the others as he'd hoped to do.

After the first week of preparation passed, he despaired of ever earning another friend beyond Chloe as the others kept their distance from him.

When the camp finally opened its doors for that summer's campers, he almost sighed in relief, knowing they'd keep him busy. He needed busy or his mind would continue to haunt him with his inability to make friends with anyone he worked with. 

He honestly never expected his luck to change in any regard as the second week followed, almost parallel to the first. He couldn't help but watch the other counselors work together with the kids as they manned hikes through the nearby woods, tackled lifeguard duty at the lake, and handled arts and crafts like true pros. 

The last thing he ever expected one night was the camp breaking out into a war zone between the campers and the counselors. Apparently, a rousing game of Double Dog Dare had gone a step too far and resulted in a ruined piece of clothing that was too valuable to be at a rustic camp. Revenge had been issued to the offending person yet that only sparked the beginning. Teams broke apart between the cabins. Alliances forged and bonded by their need to avenge one another on both sides. 

On that fateful night, one of the counselors sought refuge from the war in his room, her raven hair glowing blue in the moonlight while her bluebell eyes danced with merriment as she waited for the attacks to die down. 

She gasped when she noticed him, her cheeks going red even as she pressed her finger to her lips. Her silent pleading for him to keep her location safe almost too good for him to divulge. 

He came to crouch next to her, whispering his name in the hopes of gaining hers.

"Well, Adrien, I'm Marinette. It looks like we're going to be partners during this little shenanigan. You up to the challenge?" She stared at him with those same blue eyes, searching his green ones for confirmation of his help. Her expression remained hopeful as she regarded him.

"Partners?" He smiled. "I like the sound of that. So, what do we do?"

She dared a peek through the window of his door, ducking back down as a few counselors passed by. 

When she turned back to him, a determined glint glowed from her eyes as she whispered, "Here's the plan."


	2. An Alliance Made

Marinette remained crouched below Adrien's door, fighting the rising blush to her cheeks as she regarded the young man beside her. She'd been watching him since he arrived, wondering about him. Sure, he had a few strikes against him as a friend of Chloe's, but there was something about him that drew her to him, not that she'd been given many opportunities to speak with him. Chloe and the other counselors had seen to that.

Whatever he was, she could tell he wasn't the heartless guy the others said he was. He had a kindness about him that drew her close while her friends worked to keep her at a distance. He also had a nice smile that had won plenty of the kids' hearts as they sought the head counselor's approval for their next activities. 

That had been the crux of the problem for him, she realized as he'd been given the position she'd been promised, the one she'd worked hard to earn the past few summers. Yet, as she met his green gaze in the darkened interior, she held no animosity toward him. She didn't have the energy to resent him as he bounced on the balls of his feet, eager to help her in this silly battle between the cabins. 

"Okay, do you have any water balloons stored here? We're going to need lots of them." She tapped her cheek as she worked through the list of supplies she thought they'd need to secure a victory. "A backpack or duffel would be handy, too."

He glanced around his room and frowned, shaking his head as he muttered, "I didn't think I'd need them in here, but I have the keys to the arts and craft room. Will that help?"

She dared a peek outside the window, glancing at the battle taking place a few cabins down. With a cheeky smile, she turned to him and nodded. "Stay low and follow me."

Together, they raced toward the arts and crafts cabin a few doors down and snuck inside before anyone saw them, closing the door softly in case anyone happened nearby. She heard the lock click as she rested against the wall before catching Adrien as he searched some nearby shelves. 

"How's it going?" she asked, moving to stand near him and hiding a smile when he jumped at her nearness. "Finding anything we can use?"

He gulped a bit before he answered. "No balloons, but I did find some cotton balls and other items. Think we could use those?"

She glanced over the stocked supplies of their crafting cabin, smiling when she caught some old Halloween decorations, including a spiderweb. Pulling the large webbing from the shelf, she motioned for him to follow her as she ducked low again and unlocked the door. 

"What are we doing?" he asked, remaining at her side as they hurried toward her cabin at the other end of the campgrounds.

She smirked as she whispered, "We're creating a trap as we reload our balloon arsenal. If we can block off the cabin long enough, we should have enough time to take down the other counselors. We'll have to hurry though. Alya and Nino tend to know all my tricks."

"Alya and Nino? Isn't that the music and writing counselors?" He glanced around, checking their surroundings for any surprises, much to her amusement and growing endearment for him. "What would they do if they caught you?"

Giggling, she struggled to speak as she imagined several scenarios, all of them featuring her drenched in something. "I'd rather not find out. You still game?"

"We're partners, aren't we?" 

That caught her off-guard as she dared a glance at him, his eyes almost glowing with his rising excitement and determination to win this game. He must have caught her staring at him because he gave her a sweet smile, full of mirth as he opened the door to her cabin and allowed her inside first. 

Shaking herself, she handed him half of the fake spiderweb, motioning for him to drape it on his half of the cabin near the door. They spent a couple minutes ensuring the entire area had been covered well enough before she hurried to her bed. Bending down, she reached underneath until her fingers grasped her secret stash of wartime supplies. 

"You knew this was going to happen?" His brow quirked as he took in the medium-sized box almost overflowing with water balloons, spools of thread and various strings, and more. "Isn't this against the rules?"

"This happens every year and rules are meant to be broken when they're completely stupid." She spared him a glance as she grabbed a couple handfuls of balloons. "Don't you ever break the rules, Adrien?"

"I've never been allowed to, so no, I haven't." His words came out low, almost sad as he refused to meet her gaze.

Touching his shoulder, she offered him a soft smile as she announced, "Well, here's to your first taste of rule-breaking. I promise the repercussions aren't that bad. We just have to clean up the mess we create, is all."

He nodded, taking the balloons from her hands and moving toward the sink. 

They worked in silence as he filled while she tied them off, stacking them on the counter. She kept darting glances at him as they worked, finding his presence almost soothing. Their synced movements lulled her into a security she hadn't felt with someone before. She continued to stack them until they had at least thirty to share, feeling confident that'd be enough to stave off any campers or counselors as they sought the prized item and claimed it as their own.

As he turned off the water, she hurried to find her bag, hoping she hadn't filled it too full with her sketchbooks and sketching supplies. She almost groaned aloud as she noted her lack of luck, her bag almost overflowing. With quick movements, she dumped the contents on her bed, dreading the chore of putting them back later. She could only hope she didn't lose any under her bed or elsewhere in the cabin. 

"Did you draw these?" He pointed at some of the loose pages of her worn sketchbook, his green eyes meeting hers with something akin to awe. "They're quite good, Marinette."

Darn her need to blush, she thought as she nodded, not quite meeting the raw admiration in his eyes. 

She gave him a quick nod, moving back for the filled balloons when the cabin door crashed open and a loud cry of triumph echoed in the room.

"Found you, Ladybug," Alya cackled as she lobbed a balloon in Marinette's direction.

It never hit her. 

She barely had time to register her dry state when she heard the angry cry of her best friend and temporary rival in this camp war.

"What? No! How dare you interfere?" Alya cried, pulling Marinette's gaze toward Adrien as he stood in the middle of the room, water dripping from his shirt. "You'll pay for that."

Alya rushed forward, not seeing the trap they'd set and becoming entangled in the webbing. She fell to her knees, her cry of outrage bouncing around them.

Meeting his gaze, she felt the questions burning in the back of her throat, but she never had the chance to ask them as he grabbed her hand and tugged her around the spiderweb. He didn't let go as he pulled her out of the cabin and raced back to his own, dodging a few attacks. 

Once inside, he panted though a smile played across his lips as he peeked through the window. "I'll admit this is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be."

She smiled despite herself. In a soft voice, she asked, "Why did you take that balloon for me?"

He shrugged as he looked at her, his smile softening. "We're partners, right? Don't partners defend one another?"

She couldn't imagine a sweeter answer as she reached out to touch his cheek. In the same voice she used before, she said, "Yes. Yes, we are."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update 6/10/19: This story will be completed and is on my list to finish. Right now, I'm working on a schedule to make this happen for all my WIPs. I will update everyone in the near future the progress being made for this story and other WIPs here on AO3.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](http://scribblingmama.tumblr.com)


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